Turbines can increase local temperatures. OVER the years, wind turbines have been favoured as one of the most promising renewable sources of energy. But it may come at a cost. This pollution-free and environment-friendly source of energy can cause an increase in local temperatures. Researchers from University at Albany in the US, led by Liming Zhou analysed land surface temperature data of west-central Texas between 2003 and 2011 using instruments on board NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites. The Texas region in the US has four of the world’s largest wind farms.